Greetings from about 100 miles off the coast of Ireland, headed for Southampton. I’m just a day from the end of a transatlantic crossing, something Ive always wanted to do. Luckily I have intermittent internet access so am able to get the puzzle and post this blog (I hope). Of course, I need to find time between the gala balls, fancy dinners and trivia contests, so it may be delayed a bit. I hope you all are enjoying whatever you are up to and can also find time for this week’s puzzle.
- Name: It’s the Law
- Size: 15×15
- Entries: 76
- Difficulty: Very Hard (my solve time: 13:44)
“It’s the Law” is a punny one – the themers are common phrases usually unrelated to the law that include a word that can be used in legal proceedings, punnily clued:
- 18A: [Joky judge?]: COURT JESTER – A court jester is a character employed by a king to provide levity (and maybe candid advice). Not sure I’d like a judge making jokes during a trial I was involved in.
- 24A: [Demand made when firing one’s lawyer?]: GET OFF MY CASE – I could not get the phrase “Get off my lawn!” out of my head, and thought it might be “Get off my laws!” which doesn’t make any sense. So it took me a while to get this one, especially with a few tough crosses (see below).
- 39A: [Triple-felony prosecutions?]: THREE PIECE SUITS – I wore a three-piece suit to the Roaring 20’s gala last night. For a short while I thought this entry was “three time loser” which I quickly found doesn’t work.
- 51A: [Continue one’s career as a judge?]: KEEP ON TRYING – This was the first themer I got, and it came way deep into the solve. Pretty straightforward, but didn’t really help me get the others.
- 61A: [Gofers in a legal proceeding?]: HEARING AIDS – It didn’t help that I read the first word of the clue as “golfers” the first 20 times I read it.
I had several substantial problems with this puzzle, and the NE was the last to fall. None of the themers came easily to me, and there was a lot of obscure-to-me entries and Canadian content I was unfamiliar with. I didn’t have to look anything up (well, one thing, kind of) and luckily didn’t have any typos I needed to seek out so the time is all solving, earning it a Very Hard rating. Let me know in the comments if you found it as hard as I did.
Canadian content:
- 4D: [“Let’s Make Someday Happen” lender]: RBC – I put RBS in here for some reason and it really kept me from seeing 18A for a really long time. Of course it is Royal Bank of Canada, not whatever RBS stands for.
- 6D: [Onetime “As it Happens” host Barbara]: FRUMM – A little googling seems to indicate her surname is spelled with one M, but I (or they) could be wrong.
- 19D: [Inquiry inspiring Orange Shirt Day.]: TRC – Even once I got this I had no idea what “TRC” meant. I was expecting it to be a question like “I do?” or anything else that could consist of three letters (nothing comes to mind). Interesting to learn about the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
- 33A: [Is in Québec?]: EST – I interpreted “is” in the clue as “exists” so thought “etre” but of course that’s too long.
- 71A: [B.C.’s St. John and St. James: Abbr.]: FTS – Fort St. John and Fort St. James are two small municipalities in interior BC about 6 hours apart driving time, if Google Maps is any guide.
Other stuff:
- I have a few other things I’ll comment on later but wanted to get this posted without too much delay.
Quote of the week:
“There is no unhappiness like the misery of sighting land (and work) again after a cheerful, careless voyage.”
– Mark Twain